Something funny happened to me recently when I responded to a comment left on my blog. The person left a comment and after considering what he wrote, I left a thoughtful comment in return.
He was surprised at the length of my response which was 4 or 5 paragraphs, but I can write that in my sleep. The comment I left was just right. Not too long or too short. It was precisely enough to get the point across and add to the discussion in a thoughtful (there's that word again) way without resorting to yet another low-effort "I agree" comment.
See to me, when I engage on Hive, In my mind it's as if we're two neighbors talking over the back fence. Conversations have a beginning, middle and end, and tend to wrap up in a natural way. I approach blog posts and engagement much the same way.
An article is done when the story is told. It might necessitate being split into two parts, or not. I have a number of fully-completed posts, some of which may never see the light of day. I try to stay away from controversial subjects here (see me on Twitter for that), and a few brush up to the edges in that manner.
I'm currently working on a post that at 2,500 words and is about half done. I may never publish it, writing more for my own edification and just "getting it out" much the way former Beatle George Harrison did when he released his excellent triple album All Things Must Pass.
He'd had so much work held back by John and Paul, that he felt relief when he was finally able to share it with the world as a solo artist. Beautiful songs such as "My Sweet Lord" and "What is Life" were the incredible result of this wonderful work by a talented artist.
"When It's Done"
As gaming company Blizzard once famously retorted: "It's done when it's done" when asked about the release date of a much-anticipated game. I feel the same way. Comments and posts are as long as they need to be, and often pour out of me and seem to write themselves. Even if no one reads them at least it helps with SEO for the platform and no one can ever accuse me of being a low-effort blogger! lol!
I don't do shitposts and I'm not defined by the upvotes a given post receives. What does define me is that I made an honest effort to share in a thoughtful way, that I'm genuinely contributing to help building the platform for future growth. That's what truly matters to me.
Now sometimes I've shared short posts, but again, it's exactly long enough to tell the story. On of the articles I'm most proud of is the one I wrote about The Station Nightclub fire which occurred in 2003. 100 people lost their lives when rock band Great White took to the stage and ignited pyrotechnics that started a massive blaze.
I spent a week researching flammable materials and watching burn tests, and learned a lot about the dangers of flammable polyurethane foam mattresses sold in big box stores. People are buying this stuff at Walmart and have no idea how deadly it can be in a fire.
What was intended to be coverage of the tragedy, became almost a treatise on fire safety as well. No one saw the post at the time, but the important thing to me was getting the information out there on the web and encoded on the blockchain. If it saves one life, it was worth the effort.
And that's the point, just tell the story from beginning to end and the length will handle itself. Say what you need to say and get the information out. And at this moment, I've said what I intended to say and this tale is done.
Please check out my recent posts:
The EverNoticeThat Interview: Andy Stoll - Social Entrepreneur (PART 2)
The EverNoticeThat Interview: Andy Stoll - Social Entrepreneur (PART 1)
Image Credit: [1] @EverNoticeThat Created using Canva